GoPro Karma Drone release date, price news: Device overpriced? Camera reportedly priced no less than $500 sans camera

The GoPro Karma Drone will be launched in a matter of days, but not much about the flying camera has been revealed yet. However, the expectation is that it will be priced at over $500 without a camera, which may cost its place in the market.

In his latest research report, Dougherty analyst Charles Anderson says that with such pricing, the GoPro Karma Drone could go up to a whopping $900 to $1000 with an added camera.

"Some in the industry felt as though GoPro would not be competitive with the likes of the Yuneec Breeze and the DJI Mavic given an expectation that the Karma will be $500-plus without an attached camera," Anderson said as quoted by Investor Business Daily.

"Others felt as though GoPro's brand, distribution and installed base of drone-ready cameras would be enough to give it a strong initial ramp," the analyst continued.

One of the biggest competitions that could steal the thunder from the GoPro Karma Drone is the Yuneec Breeze Drone introduced at the InterDrone 2016.

Controlled by a smartphone app and boasting 4K video, the camera was only $499. Anderson said that the Yuneec Breeze quickly made itself as "the most consumer-friendly drone we've ever seen."

It comes with semiautonomous "follow me" and "selfie mode" features that allow users to set a certain height and distance from themselves, which will then make the drone "levitate on its own."

Oppenheimer analyst Andrew Uerkwitz, on the other hand, says that the "witty and whimsical" teasers for GoPro Karma Drone effectively elicit curiosity, which leads him to believe that the camera could be a "game-changer."

He also added that GoPro Karma Drone will have tons of competition this holiday. If its pricing will indeed be higher than what analysts believe it should be, the flying camera from the camera giant will certainly be in trouble.